Lakeland Hornets eliminated by Foxes

No. 9 Lakeland’s Mateo Lugo scored a game-high 16 points, including four 3-pointers in the first half, but his team fell to No. 8 Fox Lane in a Section 1 Class AA opening-round game Feb. 21.

“To hit the threes in the first half was due to my teammates creating space and setting screens and great passes my way, to give me chances at shooting the shots,” Lugo said. “My coaches for calling plays to give me open shots also contributed greatly.” 

Lugo’s long-range prowess, however, wasn’t enough to stop the Foxes.  

Led by 15 points on five first half 3-pointers from Christopher Sanchez and 14 points apiece from Ethan Mayers and Arthur Shevick, the Foxes eliminated Lakeland 55-41 at Byram Hills, because Fox Lane’s gym was under construction.  

Fox Lane also won the two regular-season meetings between the teams, 64-26 at Fox Lane on Jan. 9 and 49-47 at Lakeland on Jan. 20.  

Lugo made his first trey one minute and 14 seconds into the game, putting Lakeland out in front 5-4.  

“The 3-pointer was developed in our set and I saw the opening for a shot opportunity with the switch on the screen, leaving me room to shoot one from deep,” Lugo said. “It felt good to hit the shot to create momentum and confidence for my team early in the quarter.” 

Fox Lane then went on a 10-0 run to go up 14-5, a run which included back to back 3-pointers from Will Broghammer and Shevick. A field goal by Lakeland’s Mike Lucia (11 points, 5 assists), from just inside the 3-point line on the right corner, ended that run. 

Fox Lane though scored 9 of the next 11 points after that, to secure a 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and continued to lead, 35-26, at halftime. 

With 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Lugo was fouled taking a 3-pointer from the right corner. He made two of his three foul shots, cutting Fox Lane’s lead to 42-30. 

“At the line all I was thinking was to keep fighting and that we could not afford to miss any of these foul shots, especially considering we were trailing by double digits,” Lugo said. “Unfortunately I missed one but knew we couldn’t stop fighting to get back into the game.” 

One of those Hornets who was fighting to get Lakeland back in the game was Pat Gibson. He stole a Fox Lane pass in the Foxes’ backcourt, made a layup while being fouled, then converted the foul shot, to slice the Foxes’ advantage to 42-33, with 34.6 seconds left in the third stanza.  
“It was nice to make a play to cut the lead to under 10 going into the fourth quarter, to put ourselves in a position to make a late-game push,” Gibson said. 

Fox Lane responded with a buzzer-beating layup to end the third quarter and outscored Lakeland 11-8 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.  

While the ending was disappointing, it couldn’t take away what overall was a great season for Lakeland, one that saw it finish 13-8, including winning seven of its last eight regular-season games. 

Luke Lulanaj (4 points, 8 rebounds), Anthony D’Errico (3 points), Joe LaPeruta, Aadi Sandhu, CC Savastano and Ethan Pomerantz were the seniors who led Lakeland this season.  

“I am really pleased with the season, overall,” said Lakeland coach Shawn Sullivan. “These guys are the best. They have been so easy to coach, extremely competitive and always put the team first. The seniors set a great example and the younger guys followed their lead. The future looks bright for Lakeland basketball.” 

Louis Murray (3 points) and Nick Uribe (1 point) also scored for Lakeland against Fox Lane.